Church of England Investing Heavily In Hedge Funds

New York (HedgeCo.Net) – According to this year’s report from the UK clergy pension board, around £60m ($94 million) has been transferred to hedge funds Bridgewater Associates, Winton Capital and Blackrock Asset Management, all of whom are “big charitable donors” to the church, the Guardian reports.

“Why do hedge fund managers need to… take a fifth of all profits, simply because they are doing their jobs and investing effectively?” Reverend William Campbell-Taylor, vicar of St Thomas’ Church, said, “You would hope the church’s pension board has the mojo to question this practice.”

The Guardian reports:

(The Church’s) top 20 investments include mining companies Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton, Anglo American and oil companies Royal Dutch Shell, BG Group and Exxon Mobil. The fund also has big investments in Apple and Google.

Sources say that the Church has spent about £500,000 ($786.500) on hedge fund management fees so far this year.